DCED chief details plan for manufacturing

With the one-two punch of natural gas development and reshoring transforming the manufacturing industry, Alan Walker, secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development, says Pennsylvania should soon undergo a renaissance as well.

Walker spoke to a small crowd of politicians, economic development officials and U.S. Steel Corp. workers Aug. 21 at the company’s Mon Valley Works Training Hub in Duquesne as the Governor’s Manufacturing Advisory Council issued a list of recommendations for how to encourage more manufacturing in the state.

A sector that had been lost is coming back, Walker said, adding the reindustrialization of Pennsylvania is possible, “but only if we do it right and strategically.”

Part of that strategy includes the 15 recommendations offered by the advisory council, which was co-chaired by Walker and Carlos Cardoso, chairman, president and CEO of tooling maker Kennametal Inc.

The report — the fruition of work over the past six months — highlights a skilled labor shortage as the pressing issue for the industry, but also notes the need for better access to capital, tax reform to encourage growth and innovation, a statewide energy plan and infrastructure improvements.

For workforce development, the council recommends a manufacturing-led “adopt a school” program and better connections between industry and education; standardized skill needs and curriculum; and better support for career and technical education.

Many of the issues brought up in the report have been concerns within the industry for a number of years, but now Walker said there is a coordinated effort across the state, giving the recommendations a “high probability” of being adopted.

The council, which is made up of 24 members mostly from industry but also including state and economic development groups, will continue to meet, Walker said.

Chris Masciantonio, general manager of public policy and government affairs for U.S. Steel, which is one of the advisory council members, told the audience the company will help encourage lawmakers to join and implement the recommendations. So far, he said, the report has been well received by the Corbett administration.

Masciantonio said it was appropriate to be at the steelmaker’s training hub since workforce development is a top priority. At the hub, employees receive training on mechanical and electrical skills as well as welding, which are all trade skills manufacturers across the region report difficulty finding.

“Manufacturing is at a crossroads in America,” said Cardoso in a written statement. “On one path, it’s leading our nation’s steady economic recovery. On another, our nation’s manufacturers face a skilled-worker shortage of over 1 million jobs we’re struggling to fill, with 2.7 million baby boomers slated to retire in the next decade. The problem for manufacturing isn’t the availability of jobs, but rather the ability of skilled workers to fill the jobs. This is nothing short of an emergency.”

According to the report, there are 15,000 manufacturing companies across the state employing 574,000 workers, or 10 percent of the total workforce. Average compensation for manufacturing workers is $64,913, and the sector accounts for 12 percent of Pennsylvania’s $71 billion gross state product.

There are 7,639 manufacturing-job openings, according to the state’s Department of Labor and Industry online job postings.